Oar coupling



(No Model.)

Patented Sept. 28, 1886.

UNITED STATES ATENT EErcE.

GEORGE F. ALMY, OF DELPHOS, OHIO.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECFICATEON forming part of Letters Patent No. 349.968, dated September 28, 1886.

Application filed August 3, 1886. Serial No. 209,906. (No model.) A

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. ALMY, of Delphos, in the county of Allen and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specication, in which- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of a draw-head, showing my coupling device,the cylinder being in its lowest or normal position and ready for coupling. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the position of the same when coupled. Fig. 3 is a similar section showing the link as adjusted to couple with a lower draw-bar. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section on line a: x, Fig. l. Fig. 5is a horizontal section of the device on line y y, Fig. 1. Fig.- 6 represents a vertical longitudinal section of a draw-head embodying a modification of the coupling devices.

This invention relates to improvements in car-couplers of the link-and-pin variety, the object being to cause the pin to fall automatically and engage within the link by the displacement by thelatter of a movable cylinder or sphere, which holds up the pin before displacement in the act of coupling.

The invention consists in devising means whereby the link is caused to strike the cylinder or sphere below its central line, so as to readily and certainly force it backward and upward into the proper recesses in the drawhead, whereby the cylinder or sphereis caused to hold the pin up by pressure on its inner side in relation to the draw-head, so that it can be more readily displaced by the link than when standing vertically under the point of the pin, and whereby the pin is preventedy from passing over the top of the cylinder or sphere, so as to wedge it in the interior of the draw-head or prevent it rising in the recess.

The invention further consists in certain details of construction and arrangement hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by letters, A designates a draw-head of ordinary shape provided with the link-recess B, having at its bottom the shoulder Z), curved to fit the rounded end of the inserted link, and rising from the floor of the link-recess at right angles thereto. The sides of the.link diverge from shoulder to mouth to allow the link to turn laterally in the draw-head, as when moving over curves, and the upper and lower V edges of its mouth are beveled so that the link may more readily turn up or down, as when cars of different heights are coupled together.

O O are the pin-openings in the roof and floor of the link-recess, respectively, the one vertically above the other and at suitable distances from the mouth of said recess.

E is the recess for the cylinder that holds up the pin. The said recess inclines upward and rearward, or from the mouth of the linkrecess from the top ofthe shoulder b, and opens on the upper surface of the draw-head, and it 'is rectangularin cross-section, so that the cylinder can fit snugly,and yet roll easily up and down therein.

e isascrewcap,which engages in the thread- 75 ed upper end of the recess.

F is a cylinder, which moves easily in the recess E, but cannot fall from the lower orifice of the same, being held up by the projections ff on the lower end of the front wall of the said recesses, which projections allow but little more than the lower third of the cylinder to project into the link-recess just in front of or outward from the shoulder b. The projections f have their meeting surfaces so formed as to iit against the cylinder or ball F on each side of the recess of the latter and hold it well up from the floor of the link-recess. The said surfaces must consequently be differently shaped, according to whether a cylinder or ball is is used, but the function in each case is identical. The lowest point of the cylinder can thus never touch the floor of the link-recess, but its lowest portion is removed therefrom a distance a little less than the thickness of the link. The more nearly equal this dis-- tance is to said thickness the less force the link will have to exercise to raise the cylinder. The pin-opening O in the roof of the link-recess communicates with the cylinder-recess from its bottom to near its top, so that the cylinder partially protrudes therein when in its lowest position.

G is a pin of ordinary shape, except that its lower end has made upon it a curved shoulder, g, which tits upon the periphery of the cylin- IOO - der, and when the link is not in the draw-head the cylinder rests against the shoulder and the side of the lower end of the pin, so as to hold the latter up, but the end of the pin in this position never enters the link-recess, else it` would be in the way of the link when entering. f H is the link of the ordinary construction.

The manner in which the cylinder holds up the `pin is apparent from the foregoing. When the link enters the draw-head,it strikes against the cylinder below the ycentral line, for the latter is above the link-recess, and'forces it up into its recess, but it cannot follow-it up any distance nor wedge it in the draw-head, for the reasons that the cylinder nearly fills the recess proper from cap to lower orifice, and the link cannot pass it in the said recess. The fact of the link striking the cylinder below 'the central line makes it certain that theformer will elevate the latter. The cylinder resting against the inner side of the pin is in the most favorable position to be displaced by the link,

and the lowest point of the cylinder being elevated above the door of the link-recess, will cause the link to more easily pass under the cylinder than if the latter rested upon the said floor. Moreover, the projections f f, at the lower orice of the cylinder-recess, iix the normal position of the cylinder, which does not, as in some other constructions, have to roll outward in the link-recess till it settles in the lower pin-opening, C', from which the link has to disengage it with a jar. Thus the parts work with the least motion possible, and consequently with the least friction and wear.V When the link has fully entered the drawhead andhas elevated the cylinder, it strikes .against the shoulder b and has its `motion gage a draw-head of height equal to that to which it is connected. To couple to a lower draw-head, the link is pulled slightlyout-l ward and its outer end depressed. The cylinder then impinges against and not upon its inserted end, so that the weight of the former is not sufficient vto raise the outer end of the link. The part F is preferably made cylin.

drical; but, if desired, it may be spherical in shape, as shown in Fig. 6. In that case its recess must have a circular cross-section.

' Should the pin be made without the shoulder g its end would still beimpinged on andheldup by the side of the cylinder orV sphere; but the use of the shoulder gives a positive lateral hold and aids in supporting the pin, so that it rests steady in its upper opening, C, and is therefore preferable. Where the roof of the link-recess is thick and the pin-opening C deep, so as to support the pin well, the latter would be made without the shoulder g.

'By the use of the screw-cap e the vdrawhead can be cast solid or in one piece, the cylinder introduced in its recess, and the cap screwed in to close said recess.

I am aware that a ball moving into the linkrecess, holding up the end of the pin, and arranged to be displaced by the entering link has been used, and such I do not claim, as the certainty of action'and eiiiciency of my invention would probably be lost if the cylinder or sphere were allowed to leave the recess in which it fits.

Having described my invention, I claiml. .The combination'of a pin and link of ordinary construction with the draw-head having the flink-recess, the cylinder-recess inclin- -ing upward and inward from thel rear end of the link-recess, and the pin-openings through the roof and licor of the link-recess; the formeropening into the lower part of the cylinderrecess, the cylinder fitting snugly and adapted to roll in its recess, and detent projections standing inward from the surface of the cylinder-recess, so as to allow the cylinder to protrude into the path of the pin, but preventing it from leaving its recess and touching the oorof the link-recess, substantially as specified.-

2. The combination of the link and the pin provided with the curved shoulder g, to iit upon the periphery of the cylinder F, with the draw-head provided with the link-recess, the cylinder-recess having at its lower end the detent projections fand the pin -openings C G, the former communicating with the cylinder-recess, so that the cylinder can project into said opening, and the cylinder lying, when at its lowest position, against the side and shoulder of the pin, substantially as specilied. 3. The combination of a link and pin of ,common construction, the cylinder F with the draw-head provided with the openings, lthe link-recesses B, 'having the shoulder b, curved correspondingly to the end of the link, and the cylinder-recess inclined upward and inward from the top of said shoulder, and prowided at its lower end, oneach side of its communication with the upper pin-opening, with the projections f f, which allow the cylinder to protrude into the path of the pin,but

prevent its leaving its recess and touching the door ofthe link-recess, substantially as specifled.

4:. The combination of the draw-head A, having the pin-openings C C', the link-recess B, provided with the shoulder b, and the cyltwo witnesses.

GEORGE F. Amir.

Witnesses! l?. G. DIETERICH A. E. DoWnLL.

IOO

inder-recess E, provided with the detent proi 

